How Elite Class Women Got Dressed in Roman Britain

Crow’s Eye Productions offers a realistic view into the past with a demonstration showing how a woman from the elite wealthy class got dressed for the day by a couple of slaves during the Roman occupation of Britain.

A woman dresses in the clothing worn by the elite during the Roman occupation of Britain. …The Roman home was dependent on enslaved labor and domestic slaves skilled in the arts of dressing, hairdressing, and makeup were essential.

The narrator notes that this process wouldn’t last long due to class division, changing styles, and the very shaky political ground upon which the elite was standing.

When outside or in public, women could draw the palate over the head as a mark of dignity and status, but this lifestyle was not to last. An economy based on stolen lands, wealth, and labor and dominated by a super-wealthy elite was unsustainable. The year 410 saw the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, and the vacuum was to be filled by new waves of migration from western and northern Europe.

Stylist Liv Free also recreated the elaborate makeup process of the time with modern tools on model Kate Fenwick.

Liv Free demonstrates how you can recreate an ancient Roman style using modern tools and products.